Former Strikeforce fighter and recent BKFC Prospect Series athlete Lumumba Sayers Sr. has been arrested for murder after allegedly killing a man to avenge the death of his son.
Sayers Sr., a mixed martial arts veteran of 11 professional fights who went by the moniker “Heavy Hands,” is accused of shooting an individual in the head after showing up at a child’s birthday party this past Saturday, according to an arrest affidavit (h/t Denver7).
The victim of the incident, which took place at Pioneer Park in Commerce City, Colorado, was identified as Malcolm Watson, who is believed to be connected to the individual initially accused of murdering Sayers Sr.’s son in 2023.
Lumumba Sayers Jr., who was also a budding MMA fighter, was among two killed in a shooting in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood last August. Tyrell Braxton was arrested the following month and charged with murder, before the case against him was subsequently dismissed.
The tragic killing saw Sayers Jr. become the victim of the exact violence he strived to fight against, with both him and his father serving as anti-gun violence activists.
Sayers Sr., who returned to combat sports this year with a 12-second knockout win on the BKFC Prospect Series, started the Heavy Hands Heavy Hearts boxing gym in Aurora. The facility works to help young people avoid gun violence.
Sayers Jr., meanwhile, was said to have been a leader in Denver’s “Gloves Up, Guns Down” program, in addition to his involvement with his father’s gym.
Tragically, while the 23-year-old was the victim of such violence, his father is now accused of carrying out a similar act in retaliation.
MMA Veteran Lumumba Sayers Sr. Accused Of Shooting Victim In The Head During Child’s Birthday Party
Per the arrest affidavit, the alleged victim of this past weekend’s shooting was at a birthday part at the Pioneer Park waterpark, where a witness claimed to have seen Sayers Sr. “walk up and shoot the victim in the head at close range.” Another person present told police the former fighter had “killed her baby’s daddy on the baby’s birthday.”
Police were also told that Sayers Sr. had attempted to shoot Watson’s body with a second firearm, which had jammed.
One witness suggested the “murder was probably in retaliation or revenge” for the death or Sayers Sr.’s son. While the alleged relationship between Watson and Braxton, the man initially accused of killing Lumumba Jr., is not detailed in the affidavit, a connection between the two murders is implied.
Two days on from Watson’s death, Denver7 spoke to community leader Topazz McBride, owner of the Rediscovery Through Wellness center in Aurora. She spoke about Sayers Sr.’s struggles since his son’s murder and discussed what needs to come next for her community.
“When a person goes through something like this, they need ongoing support the grief process, the mourning does not go away,” McBride said. “People have their own lives, and so people begin to move back to their own sense of normalcy, which didn’t necessarily happen with Lumumba. … He was so close to his son, he grieved in a different way because of how he’s been available to community and to other families who’ve lost children to gun violence.
“What’s next is about maintaining peace, but also making sure that we’re taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves because now they’re devastated and prayer for the hearts of everyone that hearts don’t get hardened as a result of this,” McBride added.
During his MMA career, Lumumba Sayers Sr. faced notable names like ex-UFC title challenger Anthony Smith and longtime middleweight contender Derek Brunson, fighting the former on the undercard of Ronda Rousey’s Strikeforce title fight against Sarah Kaufman in 2012.
Continue Reading Former Strikeforce Fighter Arrested For Alleged Revenge Killing A Year On From Son’s Murder at MMA News.